CCharles

“It tells you how far rumors go,” said Charles, who in reality had only cycled a few turns on the road before turning back. Life was not easy in a small town for those who make mistakes. “In Edmonton, you can do whatever you want to, nobody gives a shit. In Aklavik everyone knows everyone, and if you do anything wrong it reaches the other side of town in 5 minutes.”

By the time he turned twenty-one, Charles felt he had to escape. He had gone from being a “Grade A student to a total alcoholic and failure”. He was angry and confused. He did not meet his biological mother until he was fourteen.

“My father died when I was eight months old, and since then, my mother has been a hardcore alcoholic. I guess I learnt from her to drink if I am unhappy. I started breaking into people’s homes for booze, and going in and out of jail.”

“I left the NWT thinking, different place, different people. I was hoping my problems will go away if I left, but they didn’t.” Instead, he was overwhelmed in Edmonton, a “small town boy” who “didn’t know anyone besides my girlfriend. It made

An email from Dayna: In my first year of nursing, my practicum was geriatrics. I was assigned a patient. I peaked into the room and there she was, a frail 98-year-old woman sleeping, how could I wake her up? I felt my legs trembling so I went to the washroom and started crying. I wasn’t sure why, I just felt the need to. Then, I pulled myself together, gave myself a pep talk, and with confidence awakened my patient, and got her ready for the day.

The old lady was very good to me and showed patience. At the end of the practicum she demanded the staff let her see me before I left. She waited in the hallway until she saw me. She hugged me and told me she would never forget me. I still remember the time I cried and laugh at myself.

Dayna

I realized only later on it was culture shock I was going through. I had first gone to Alberta for Boarding School because I needed to focus on my studies and get a better education. It was a big leap to leave my home and be away from my family and friends, but it had to be done.

Dayna Lennie

I was put in a dorm room with about 15 other high school girls. The cafeteria food was good for the first week, and bad for the rest of the time. I missed country food. My first year in Edmonton revealed how aboriginal people are stereotyped in Alberta. There were only 3 aboriginal students in my high school, and I remember

For those facing the challenge of moving south, there is a new service in place to help with your transition. Donna Allen and Debra English want to help Inuvialuit and Gwich'in transition smoothly from the north to the south, so they can complete their education and become leaders when they leave the city.

They are associates in a one-year independent contract funded by ARTHA, the aboriginal human resource organization, and local governments. Donna and Debra are both former northern students, and understand how it is “a big transition” when you go from living with “3000 people to half a million”.

They came up with the idea for Northern Students Services when Donna was pursuing a diploma in Career Management and Debra a degree in Education. Donna has also worked with the Inuvialuit Education Foundation for eight years, and is used to helping students moving south get organized.

“They usually have a hard time finding accommodation near their schools, so we help them or their parents do the research. We figure out where the grocery store is, what kind of budget they need, such as the usual $1500 for down payment.”

Donna Allen

“I pick up the students when they arrive in the city, and use my truck to help them transport their belongings. Most of them are mature students traveling down for on the job training, so we also help them find family dwellings and settle their children. It